Louisiana Senate: Melancon Poll Reflects Tighter Race

[jxnmsdemguy65]

Source: Senatus

Louisiana Senate: Melancon Poll Reflects Tighter Race

October 14, 2010 by senatus

Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La. , listens as BP CEO Tony Hayward testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 17, 2010, before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on "the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and oil spill.

Louisiana Rep. “Charlie Melancon (D) has climbed to within seven points of Sen. David Vitter (R) in the state’s Senate race, according to a new poll for the Democrat’s campaign,” the Washington Post reports.

The Anzalone Liszt survey, which surveyed 600 likely voters between Oct. 9 and 12, shows Vitter at 49 percent and Melancon at 42 percent.

Melancon has “faced a significant cash deficit throughout the race, and the contest hasn’t reached the point where the DSCC has been willing to commit funds to it — particularly in a conservative-minded state like Louisiana in a year like this one.”




Read more: http://senatus.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/louisiana-senate-melancon-poll-reflects-tighter-race/

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Melancon needs your help dems!

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Oh, poo." - Sen. David Vitter (R)

"Just poo poo poo poo poo. Dammit. Poo."

- Sen. David Vitter (R)

[Zambero]

2. Vitter "victory celebration"

Will the election night festivities be eminating from Sen. Dave's favorite D.C. "comfort station", or one of the seedier joints in Nawlins?

[No Elephants]

3. He's a mixed bag, but better than Vitter. Hold your nose and vote Dem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Melancon

"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Just a few months after Melançon took office, Hurricane Katrina slammed into south Louisiana, causing massive levee failures and devastating flooding in the eastern part of his district. A second major storm, Hurricane Rita, struck the Gulf Coast three weeks later. Melançon worked with the rest of the Louisiana delegation in Congress to bring billions of recovery dollars to south Louisiana. He fought for federal funding for hurricane protection projects such as Morganza-to-the-Gulf and the levee systems in lower Plaquemines Parish and south Lafourche Parish.<3>

Melançon has continuously urged other members of the United States Congress to visit south Louisiana for as long as Louisiana still has recovery or hurricane protection needs. He has brought Congressional delegations to the Gulf Coast to see firsthand the destruction from the storms as well as the ongoing need for hurricane protection and coastal restoration. Since the storms, Melançon has sponsored a number of reform bills to try to fix the flaws in the government’s disaster response and relief system. As the representative for much of south Louisiana, Melançon has been an advocate in the United States Congress for hurricane recovery.<3>

Supporting small businesses and economic development
Melançon supported the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act (H.R. 2352), a bill that provided funding for more small business development centers. These small business incubators provide office space, support, and technology to help new companies get off the ground.<4> He also supported tax relief for small businesses, voting for the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 976). The bill provided tax credits and incentives for expanding and purchasing new equipment.<5> Melançon joined other members from energy-producing states, as well as the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, to keep new taxes on the oil and gas industry out of the President’s 2010 budget.<6>

Climate change
Melançon voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) twice, once in the Energy and Commerce Committee and again in the full the United States House of Representatives. The bill is also known as the “Waxman-Markey Energy Bill” or the “cap-and-trade” bill. Melançon said in a release that he opposed the bill because he believed it would hurt his “district and the people I represent … The oil and gas industry is the engine driving south Louisiana’s economy, providing good-paying jobs to hundreds of thousands of our workers for generations.”<7>

Melançon was successful in including an amendment in the bill that would protect Louisiana’s share of wetlands restoration funding from cuts indirectly caused by hurricane disaster assistance.<7>

America's Affordable Health Choices Act
On July 31, 2009, Melançon voted against the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) in the Energy and Commerce Committee. Melançon explained in a statement that he voted against the bill for reasons including its potential effects on small businesses, the possibility of taxpayer-funded abortions, and increases in taxes. Melançon said he was concerned that “the public option, as designed, would unfairly undercut anything the private sector could offer.” Melançon also noted that the bill does not do enough to address the need for more providers in rural communities.<8>

Melancon also voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010,<9> because it "doesn’t work for Louisiana."<10> However, he has not signed the discharge petition circulated by Iowa Republican Steve King calling for a complete repeal of the law.<11>

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Melançon voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.<12> In explaining his vote for the legislation, Melançon said, “The people of south Louisiana sent me to Congress because I promised to listen to them and do what I thought was right, not what was most popular or what my party told me to do. This plan, while far from perfect, will create or save an estimated 50,000 jobs in Louisiana, invest over $538 million in infrastructure projects for our state, and lay a foundation for long-term growth for our country through innovation and education."<13>

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Melançon voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.<14>

Employee Free Choice Act
Although Melançon is listed as a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, his comments on the bill indicate a more ambivalent measure of support. He has stated, “I understand many of the concerns expressed by the business community. I am interested in bringing both sides together to work out their differences and develop a bipartisan solution that will address some of these concerns, while still protecting employees’ rights.”<15>

Federal Marriage Amendment
In July 2006, Rep. Melançon voted in support of the Federal Marriage Amendment.<16>

Matthew Shepard Act of 2009
On 29 April 2009, Rep. Melançon voted against the federal hate crimes expansion bill known as the Matthew Shepard Act.<17>

2010 Oil Spill
His district was heavily affected by the 2010 BP oil spill crisis. He has been active in recovery efforts and was seen in a hearing tearing up when talking about the damage. The video of the hearing gained national press."

[pacalo]

4. Yep, that's exactly spot on.

Hey, if Mary Landrieu could pull out a victory so can Melancon. My thinking is, at least he'll have a "D" next to his name.